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P. w. WEBSTER. PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING VAPLROUS AND GASEOUS CONSTTTUENTS 0F FATTY OILS. GUMS, RESINS, AND LIKE MATERIAL. w AFFLICAIIUN FILEJJ JAN-16,1920. 1,438,565 Patented Dec. 12, 1922.-

en ma Dec. 12, 1922.

s'r TEs PAUL WEBSTER, OF PELHAM MANOR, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO PERRY & WEBSTER INCORPORATED, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING VAPOROUS AND GASEOUS GONSTITUENTS OF FATTY OILS, GUMS, RESINS, AND LIKE MATERIAL.

Application filed January 16, 1920. Serial No. 351,825.

T 0 all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that 1, PAUL W. Wrasrnu,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Pelham Manor, in the county of \Vestchester and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Process of and Apparatus for Treating Vaporous and Gaseous Constituents of Fatty Oils, Gums, Resins, and like Material, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to a process of and apparatus for treating vaporous and gaseous constituents of fatty oils, gums, resins and like material which are evolved during processes of manufacture.

In the manufacture of many kinds of varnishes, paints, lacquers, etc, drying oils such as linseed oil, tung oil, china wood oil. soya beau oil and various types of gums and resins are heated and boiled. In these heating operations, fumes are driven oft which consist of vapors of volatile oils and some comparatively permanent gases. These fumes have been a source of great annoy ance to the n'ianufacturers because they are very obnoxious and form objectionable and dangerously inflammable deposits upon surfaces with which they come in contact while in concentrated condition, as for instance. the interior surfaces of hoods, fiues, stacks, etc.

In the boiling of oils and in the manufacture of varnishes and similar products, it is and has been the practice to cook the oils, gums, etc. in kettles over open furnaces burning coke. fuel. oil or other similar fuels. The products of combustion, together with the kettle fumes. have been led into special stacks and the high temperatures used and fiames thus present at the kettles increase the fire risk. Further, there is an ever present danger of the inflammable contents ofthe kettle catching fire, and as a matter of fact, kettle-flashing is of common occurrence.

Because of the above conditions, it has been the practice and has generally been considered necessary to sacrifice economy of, ground area and economy of building construction and economy of operation by isolating the oil-boiling or kettle house with its stacks from all the other buildings of a paint or varnish plant, and also to isolate, for instance. the process of cooking varnish from all the other processes of varnish manufacture, such as the storage of gums, oils,

etc, the thinning, filtering and aging of the product, and the storage and packing and shipping of the product.

The design and construction of the kettle house and of its stack has moreover conformed to the necessity of its survival and ability to withstand conflagrations and has been a one-story massive building, expensive to build and awkward and expensive for its operation, as compared with, for instance, the design. and construction of a modern niulti-story paint factory, where low investment cost and high efficiency of operation are obtained by use-of modern structural building materials and design, and by storage of solid and liquid raw materials above the floors for product production Varnish manufacture is analogous to paint manufacture and the two industries are closely related and much of the product of a varnish factory becomes the raw material of a paint. faetoryand many of the liquid raw materials are identical to both products.

One object of the present invention is to provide a'process of treating fumes formed in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, lacquers and the like, bywhic-h 'the obnoxious feafiures of the fumes may be done away wit 1,

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for treating fumes formed in the manufacture of varnishes, paints, lacquers and the likeQby which the danger and inconvenienceof fires and explosions may be eifectively eliminated so that the treating operation may be carried on in buildings of the most advantageous type.

Extended investigation and experimenta', tion with the fumes mentioned above has shown that the fumes are composed of con stituents which may be classified as follows, namely: partial condensates, intermediate condensates, end products, and permanent gases. The partial condensate is that portion of the fume which may be recovered by condensation at a moderate cooling temperature whichmay be generally defined as at mospheric temperature. The intermediate condensate is that portion of the fume which may be recovered by means of a liquid scrubbing operation. portion of the fume which is not controllable The end product is thattion or by a liquid scrubbing operation.

Further, the intermediate condensate cannot all be recovered by surface condensation at a moderate temperature. The partial condensate, intermediate condensate and end products defined above, have been found to be valuable oils, gums or products thereof. Each of these products have different chemical characteristics as well as different physical properties.

Accordingly, a further objectof the invention is ,to provide a process by which the constituents of fumes formed in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, lacquers and the like, may be completely recovered as valuable by-products.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process of treating fumes formed in the manufacture of varnishes, paints, lacquers and the like by which the various constituents of the fame may be selectively recovered.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved process of and apparatus for treating organic fumes hereinafter described and claimed.

W'l1ile I have shown a form of construction and arrangement of apparatus which is preferred by me, it is obvious that either may be widely varied without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Figure 1 is a view inside elevation, of a fume-treating apparatus embodying the preferred form of the invention;

Fig. '2 is a plan view of the fume-absorbing apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the fire-arresting device;

Fig. 4 is a sectlonal view showing the method of connecting the annulus to the kettle cover; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the chemical treating tank. v

-In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, an apparatus is shown which is adapted for treating the fumes driven off from the heating kettles of paint, oil, and varnish factories. The paint, varnish or lacquer is heated or boiled in treating kettles 10, and the fumes evolved are carried of:

of the kettle.

nalled in a bearing 47.

a conduit 14 to a fire-arresting device 16. From the fire-arresting device, the fumes pass through aisu'rface condensing conduit 18 into a condensate collector 20 which also acts as a surface condenser for condensing the fumes at a moderate atmospheric tern-- peraturer The fumes leaving the collector 20 pass through the low temperature surface condenser 22 to a liquid scrubbing condenser .24. The circulation of the fumes throughthe apparatus described above is effected by means of a suction which is created by a positive pressure blower 26. The fumes passing through the blower 26 flow through a conduit 28 into a chemical absorption treating tank 30 where they are scrubbed and treated with an alkaline solution, and any unabsorbed vapors or gases leave the chemical treating-tank through a stack 32.

To effectively collect the fumes driven off from the kettles 10, a kettle cover 34 is secured at the lower end of the conduit 12. The various types of paint, varnish and lacquer-treating kettles have different sizes and I shapes and it is desirable that the cover should'make a comparatively close fit over kettles and to arrange for different-positions The vertical adjustment of the kettle cover is obtained by means of a telescopic section '36 in'the flue 12 and the sections maybe maintained in any desired vertical position by means of the cords 38 and weights 40. The horizontal adjustment of the cover may be effected by means of a ball and socket joint 41 formed at the lower end of the flue 12, and a horizontal pivotal movement of the upper end of the flue 12. To permit the flue 12 to swing about a horizontal pivot at its upper end, a thimble 42 is secured to the upper end of the flue 12 and arranged to loosely fit over the end oi the conduit 14. Opposite the thimble 42, a trunnion 44 is secured to the flue 12 and jourlVith the construction outlined above, it is obvious that the cover may be adjusted horizontally into the positions shown in Fig. 1 and to different vertical heights.

the cover and'the annulus, an inwardly projecting flange 48 is secured to the annulus and arranged to project under the outer rim of the cover. When the flange 48 is mounted under the outer rim of the cover, it may -be drawn tightly into place by means of -pins 50 which pass through openings formed in upwardly projecting flanges 52 and 54 secured respectively to the annulus and cover.

The fumes driven off from organic fatty materials of animal or vegetable origin con tain some constituents, which, when mixed with sufficient air, will ignite at comparatively low temperatures. 'When working with kettles heated by direct fire, these fumes are often ignited and the flames pass rapidly through the various lines and conduits for conducting the fumes through the treating apparatus. To prevent the flame from passing through the treating apparatus to come into contact with any condensed ma terial, a fiame-arresting device 16 is placed between the conduits 1 1 and 18. The flamearresting device is shown more particularly in Fig. 3 and consists of a metallic container 56 which is secured to the conduits 14 and 18 and is in open communication therewith. In the body of the flame-arresting device is mounted a pair of fine mesh screens 58 which have such a texture that they will permit the fumes to pass therethrough but will prevent the flame from passing therethrough. The screens 58 are loosely mounted in the container 56 and a cover 60 provided at the upper end of the container by which the screens may be easily removed for cleaning.

If the flame runs up the conduit 12 through the flue 14 to the firearresting device, there is a liability of an explosion in the fines if they are too tightly closed. To prevent an explosion in the lines, an explosion door 62 is loosely mounted on the upper end of the fine 12.

The major portion of the partial condensates is recovered in the fine, 18 and collector 20. To insure, however. that all of this condensate may be recovered, a cooling liquid may be circulated through the condenser 22 to insure that the fumes may be cooled toa suiiicient'degree to recover the partial condensates. Further, by using artificial cooling means in the condenser 22, part of the intermediate condensates may be recovered. Also, in the winter months, temperatures sufiiciently low for collecting the partial condensates and part of the intermediate condensates may be maintained in the condenser 22 without the circulation of a cooling liquid. The lower the temperature main tained in the condenser 22, the greater is the proportion of vapors condensed, but it is not practicable to use temperatures too low since the condensates recovered with low temperatures are quite volatile and it is preferred to remove the more volatile constituents by means of the jet condenser and chemical treatment.

The character and quality of the products recovered in the condensers 18 and 22 may be controlled also by oxidizing the fume leaving th kettle. By means of the telescopic joint 36 in the flue 12, the proximity of the cover 34 to the top of the kettle may be adjusted to permit sufficient air to enter the fine 12 immediately over the kettle to obtain any desired oxidation of the hot vapors leaving the kettle. If linseed oil is being treated in the kettle 10 and the fumes are oxidized, a distillate is recovered in the condensers 20 and 22 which has been termed linoxenated oil. This oil distillate has a lower boiling point than linseed oil and is well adapted for use in the flotation process for recovering metals and for other purposes. The hnoxenated oil product is notv claimed in this application but forms the subject matter of my co-pending application for Oxidizable oils, Ser. No. 256,788, filed October- 3, 1918.

Although it is preferable to use a low temperature condenser for separating a por. tion of-the fume in the condenser 22, this is not always necessary since a large proportion of the vapors may be condensed with the ordinary type of water condenser. lVith certain types of gums and resins, it is preferred to use anartificially cooled condenser sincethe proportion of condensable material recovered by atmospheric condensation is comparatively small. Also, in some of the winter months, the atmospheric temperatures are suflicicntly low so that it is not necessary to use a cooling medium.

For the complete control and removal of the intermediate condensates, jet condensing or scrubbing is used by which the fumes are brought into direct contact with a spray of water which is introduced through a spray nozzle 64. Many different forms of jet condensers may be used, it being sutiicient if all of the gas is brought into intimate contact with a scrubbing liquid.

The obnoxious portion of the fume appears to be a comparatively permanent gas which is not separated by condensation or water scrubbing. This portion of the fume, together with any uncondcnsed vapors. is removed by an alkaline solution in the treatment tank 30. The treament tank 30 consists of a closed tank into which the fumes are introduced by a conduit 64 to a Ushaped manifold 66 positioned in the central portion of the tank near the bottom. The upper side of the manifold 66 is covered with a foraminated plate ()8 by which the gas is thoroughly distributed through the alkaline solution. The alkaline solution may be continuously introduced into the treatment tank 30 and continuously withdrawn through an outlet 70.

A large number of organic fatty materials of animal or vegetable originwhen heated an alkaline solution. for instance, asolution of sodium hydroxide.

Other alkalies such as lime, barium. hydroxide and potassium hydroxide may be used for treating the fume, but the treatment with these al'kalies is not quite as satisfactory as with sodium hydroxide. The fume of the organic fatty materials reacts with the alkaline solution by a reaction called saponification, and this saponification product may be treated in turn to produce other products of commercial value.

By the terms alkali, or alkaline, in the claims, itis intended to include both alkalies proper and alkaline earths.

Bymeans of the process and apparatus outlined above, the various constituents of the fumes may be selectively and separately collected. The partial condensate may be withdrawn from the collector 20 through an outlet 72, the intermediate condensate may be withdrawn from the scrubber 24 I' through an outlet 74, and the end products may be withdrawn from the chemical treat ment tank through the outlet 70. If desired, the oil products recovered in the separator 20 and scrubber 24 maybe blended together to form a single product, but the material recovered from the treatment tank 30 is a saponification product or a soap, and it is desired, therefore, to recover the constituents as oils rather than in the'form of a soap. Also, it may be desirable to'collect fumes'from the treatment of oils with a conduit having a low temperature condenser in order to recover a higher percentage of linoxenated oil products or derivatives therefrom, while on the other hand, the fume evolved from the treatment of materials containing gums, resins and the like may be subjected to jet condensation or scrubbing.

The subject matter of the present invention forms a continuation in part of my co-pending application, Serial No. 256,739, filed October 3, 1918, for a process of and apparatus for treating volatile constituents of fatty oils.

fume, separating a portion ofsaid fume by surface condensation. and scrubbin the uncondensed fume with an alkaline so ution.

l. A process which comprises collecting fumes evolved by heating a fatty organic vegetable or animal material, separating a portion of said fume by surface condensation, separating a portion of said fume by scrubbing with water, and scrubbin the uncondensed'fume with an alkaline so ution.

5. A process which comprises collecting fumes evolved by heating fatty organic vegetable or animal material, and separately collecting a series of different constituents therefrom by fractional condensation.

6. A process which comprises collecting fumes evolved by heating fatty organic vegetable or fatty material and recovering from said fumes a series of different constituents separately and'in succession by subjecting them to condensation and a scrubbing treatment with a chemically reacting absorbent.

7. A process which comprises collecting vapor fumes evolved by heating linseed oil products, and scrubbing said fumes to separately remove oil condensates. 1

8. A process which comprises collecting fumes evolved by heating linseed oil products, and scrubbing said fumes with a water spray to remove oil condensates.

9. An apparatus for treating fumes from organic fatty materials, comprising a fume collector arranged to be connected with a treatment receptacle, a fume condenser connected with said collector. a chemical treatment apparatus communicating with said condenser, and means for positively forcing fumes through the apparatus.

10. An apparatus for treating fumes from organic fatty materials, comprising a fume collector arranged to be connected with a treatment receptacle, a fume condenser connected with said collector, a chemical treatment apparatus communicating with said condenser, means for positively forcing fumes through the apparatus, and means for preventing a flame fromcirculating through said apparatus.

11. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved from organic fatty materials, comprising means for collecting fume from a treatment receptacle for said material, a chemical treatment apparatus, and means for conducting fume from the collector'to the chemical treatment apparatus having a flame arresting screen positioned therein.

12. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty materials, comprising a fume-collector, a surface-condenser communicating with said collector, a refrigerating-condenser communicating with said surface condenser, and means to prevent flames from' passing through said apparatus.

13.An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty materials,v

having in combination devices for treating the fume, conduits connecting said devices, a fume-collector connected with one of said conduits comprising a cover for a receptacle for treating organic materials, and means for varying the effective area of the cover.

14. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty materials, having in combination devices for treating the fume, conduits connecting said devices, a fume-collector connected with one of said conduits comprising a cover for a receptacle fortreating organic materials, means for varying the affected area of the cover, and means for adjusting said cover vertically and horizontally.

15. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty material, having in combination devices for treating fumes, conduits connecting said devices, and a fume collector connected with one of said conduits comprising a pivotally suspended conduit having a telescopic section therein and a receptacle cover secured to the lower end of said conduit.

16. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty material, having in combination devices for treating fumes, conduits connecting said devices, and a fume-collector connected with one of said conduits comprising a pivotally suspended conduit having a telescopic section and a movable section therein and a receptacle cover secured by the lower end of said conduit.

17. An apparatus for treating fumes evolved by treating organic fatty material,

having in combination a fume-collector, a fume-condenser communicating with said collector, condensate-collector communieating with said condenser, a chemical treatment apparatus communicating with said condenser, and an explosion door in container having fine mesh screens therein and an explosion door.

19. An apparatus for treating fumes from organic fatty material, comprising a 'fumecollector arranged to be connected with a treatment receptacle, a fume-condenser connected with saidcollector, a liquid scrubber connected with said condenser, a chemical treatment apparatus communicating withsaid scrubber, and means for positively forcing fumes through said apparatus.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January, 1920.

' PAUL W. W EBSTER. 

